English transcript

I've been informed of the ruling by the CAF Appeals Board concerning the appeal by Morocco

relating to the Afghan-Morocco 2025 final match and I previously expressed my extreme

disappointment with the incidences that took place at the final match and the important

thing of what happened on that final match is it undermines the good work that CAF has

done over many many years to ensure that there's integrity, that there's respect, that there's

ethics, that there's governance as well as credibility of the results of our football

matches.

The occurrences, those incidences at the final match of the Afghan-Morocco exposers is the

work that we are still dealing with concerning the suspicion and distrust.

It's a legacy issue.

When I became president, one of the major concerns was the impartiality, the independence

and the respect of referees and match commissioners and a lot of good good work has been done

but there's also continues to be suspicion because it's a legacy issue.

It's something that has been there for many many years and we consistently deal with that

because that's critically important.

Another important matter that these incidences at the final match brought to the fore is the

independence and the respect of our judicial bodies.

We, in choosing the members of our judicial bodies, we followed a different path, different

from what had been the case before.

We invited each member association and we invited every zone, the six regional areas

or the six zones in CAF, to give us names of respected judges and respected lawyers

because it is important that the decisions of our disciplinary board, the CAF disciplinary

board and the decisions of the CAF appeals board is viewed with the respect and integrity

that's very important to us.

So if you look at the composition of those bodies, they reflect some of the most respected

lawyers and judges on the continent.

But we will still have to deal with this, with the perceptions and the concerns about

the integrity.

It's an ongoing issue.

We are very clear at CAF that we are enormously committed to ensure that not only in terms

of what we do, because we've implemented best practices, we've identified judges and lawyers

from every region, from every zone, from the 54 countries in Africa to make sure that these

are people who have integrity and have a track record.

And partly the independence is reflected by the decisions that were taken by the two

bodies.

The CAF disciplinary board took one decision.

The CAF appeals board took a totally different position.

And I'm told that Senegal is going to appeal, which is very important.

And every one of the 54 nations in Africa have a right to pursue their appeals and

their advanced interests, not only at the highest level in Africa, in CAF, but also

the highest body, which is the CAS.

And we will adhere and respect the decision that's taken at the highest level.

A critical factor is that not a single country in Africa will be treated in a manner that

is more preferential or more advantageous or more favourable than any other country

on the African continent.

We take what has happened at the final match in Morocco during the AFCON, the Total Energies

CAF Morocco 2025, we take it very, very seriously.

And we have already started with very important steps to make sure that those areas which

have been identified as deficiencies and where there's need for improvement, that the necessary

resolutions are passed.

We have very high standards that we set for ourselves.

It is important for us that ordinary football supporters and spectators in every one of

the 54 countries in Africa, in their judgment, not in CAF's judgment, not in my judgment,

regard the decisions of our judicial bodies as fair, with integrity and impartiality.

And what is equally important, that they regard our referees, our VR operators, and our match

commissioners as people who are fair and just.

And those decisions that are taken reflect the impartiality and independence that is

critically important.